|
Your child may have missed one or more of her regularly required childhood vaccines these past few years, as many vaccines had been unavailable or in very short supply. Among the vaccines that had been hard to get include, MMR, DTaP, Hib, Varivax (chickenpox), Hepatitis B, Prevnar, and Td (tetanus). Contributing to the shortages are the fact that some companies are no longer making vaccines and there "are production issues, decreased yields of the biologic materials used in certain vaccines, the elimination of some vaccines containing thimerosal as a preservative and insufficient vaccine stockpiles," according to the CDC.
If your child did miss some vaccines, now may be a good time to get caught back up. This is especially important for infants and toddlers who missed their Hib booster this past year. According to the CDC, 'we are in the final stretch of the Hib vaccine shortage,' and they have recommended 'reinstating the booster dose of Hib vaccine for children 12 through 15 months of age.'
Other vaccines, such as Menactra, Varivax, and Prevnar, are also back in good supply and your pediatrician may recall all of the children who missed any dosages the last few years and get them caught up.
If your children missed a vaccine because of a shortage, you might want to call your pediatrician to see if they can now get them. This is especially important as kids begin going back to school.
 |
| Are your children's immunizations up to date? Use our Vaccine Schedule program to print a customized immunization schedule for your child. |
|
|
